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Chemical Weapons Watchdog Ships Last Declared Chemicals Out Of Syria

Eyder Peralta

Updated: 1 year ago.

A United Nations vehicle carrying inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) leaves a hotel in Damascus, on Wednesday. Some 19 OPCW arms experts are in Syria and have started to destroy weapons production facilities.

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The mission to destroy Syria's chemical arsenal reached a "major landmark" on Monday, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in a statement.

"The last of the remaining chemicals identified for removal from Syria were loaded this afternoon aboard the Danish ship Ark Futura," OPCW's Director-General Ahmet zmc said. "The ship made its last call at the port of Latakia in what has been a long and patient campaign in support of this international endeavor."

Remember, this mission came together last fall, after the United States issued serious threats of military action against Syria. After Syria agreed to give OPCW access to the country and the United Nations approved the mission, the U.S. stepped off its war footing.

zmc says the stockpile of precursor and other chemicals removed today will then be taken on board the U.S. vessel Cape Ray and at commercial facilities in Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom and U.S., where they will be destroyed.

"The mission to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons program has been a major undertaking marked by an extraordinary international cooperation," zmc said. "Never before has an entire arsenal of a category of weapons of mass destruction been removed from a country experiencing a state of internal armed conflict. And this has been accomplished within very demanding and tight timeframes."